Continental Drift
Continental
Explorer PRO UST
£31.99
Cambrian Tyres 01970 626777
Although they give a lovely ride when they're up,
we've not been overly impressed by the practicalities of tubeless
tyres so far, but these new Conti's may have cracked it.
They've actually been making tubeless tyres for nearly as long as
pioneers Michelin, but this is the first time they've moved off their
own Rigida rim system to the now universally accepted UST
spec.
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Dependable old dog, new
tubeless tricks
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At 720g it's not the lightest tyre around, but then you get a full
2.1" width and we've had real puncture issues with lighter tyres like
Panaracer's new TrailBlaster. We started liking it the minute we
tried to fit it, as rather than the usual 20 minute f' ing and
blinding fight, they slipped on smoothly and easily without even
needing tyre levers. Then even more startlingly they started
inflating first time without any frenzied pump pushing (for those
with no tubeless experience such helpfullness is unheard of) and
continued without even a squeak or leak right up to sealing
overpressure.
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Endless tread gives impressive
all round grip
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The tread pattern itself is well established with small,
multi-faceted but reasonably tall knobs on a rounded carcass. It
won't shove you along like a big paddle tread but it hooks up
impressively in most conditions, rolls fast and quiet, and will tilt
into corners and slide out again in a very controlled manner. We
started at around 30 psi which noticeable improved traction on wet
rooty evenings, and we found ourselves constantly carving round
inside lines underneath other riders much to their disgust and our
amusement. All those little knobs mean in-line tracking isn't rock
solid but you'll soon get used to fetching back controlled slides
with a tweak of the bars.
Thanks to a faulty valve (Rolf in a Mavic CrossMax
because we lost the Mavic one when we punctured the TrailBlaster in
the p*ssing rain in the Peak) we gradually lost pressure through the
ride, but the tyre remained impressively stable. We had regular root
thumps on the rim under power, but traction assumed comedy levels of
vertical grip even on wet rock and roots and it still didn't feel
that sluggish on the hardpack.
There are still potential 'puncture on the trail,
have to bung in a tube' issues with the Conti - although it hasn't
punctured yet - but it's definitely cracked all the fitting and
inflating problems we've had with every other tyre. Plus it's got an
excellent proven all rounder tread that only gets enhanced with the
supple tubeless ride feel.
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VERDICT
Fast rolling, grippy and silky smooth absorbtion of
trail chatter enhaces the ride of every bike we
stuck them on. We'll let you know how we get on
with punctures etc in the long term but so far it's
easily the best tubeless tyre we've tested for
British conditions. It's even a few quid cheaper
than the competition.
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